Peter looked across the desk to Karen as they sat at breakfast. His feelings were mixed between curiosity and jubilation. Karen was friendly and certainly intelligent and very interesting. He didn't know much about the whole "furry fandom/fetish" thing, but in its own way seemed make Karen more capable of accepting a lot of the things that made Moon Lake so different from the rest of the country. At the same time, there seemed to just be something about Karen that just struck him as a stronger bond than what he had experienced with anyone else. Thus, her revelation of having werelioness birth control pills made him very interested, though he did admit that he would have some work to demonstrate that the issues with werelion prides was that while he could potentially have more than one lioness, the one that he married would always the most important.
The big thing, though, was some curiosity at what Karen had said as she put the pill bottle away. Her face went from pleased and potentially eager to one of concern and worry. It was massive change that Peter didn't fully understand or expect. Was there something wrong elsewhere in her life? If there was, he'd rush to do whatever he could to help her.
"What is it?" Peter asked, reaching out with one hand for Karen's.
He took her hand and held it gently. Karen looked to it for a moment, smiled and set her purse down on the empty chair next to her before bringing her other hand up to place it over the top of Peter's hand. It didn't offer Peter much relief to the look of concern that Karen had taken, as the smile was only brief and her look of concern returned almost immediately after he felt her other hand come to rest on top of his.
"Do you know my roommate?" Karen asked, "Jenny Harper?"
"I had heard that she was scratched by the rogue and became a werefox," Peter answered, "and you told me she was getting married..."
"And I am the Maid of Honor," Karen said with a brief smile.
"What about her?" Peter asked.
"Well... she's in a tough spot," Karen answered with a sigh, "there are still issues she's had with the rogue that scratched her..."
"That's something that's always going to be there with someone who's had the change forced on them," Peter told her, "Especially if the transformation isn't completed quickly. I'm afraid the only one who could help her in that regard would be a professional psychologist."
Karen nodded, "she's actually seeing a Doctor Twist for that. That part isn't the part that's the cause for the favor I have to ask."
Peter blinked slightly in puzzlement at this. He had heard about the incident that had lead to Jenny's transformation and issues with trying to catch the rogue, Yvette Smith, that had scratched her. He had actually been at home with his parents for a family day when his dad had gotten a call from City Hall that the WERE alert might be issued and he would need to have the pride ready to support the effort. Peter agreed that Yvette Smith had to be caught, but had also felt greatly relieved when a call came in later in the day that reported that she had been caught.
"You see... Jenny's also had a rather tough family life," Karen commented, "her parents have been demanding and strict beyond what would normally be expected from parents... and to the point where I think she's afraid that they could reject her because of the physical changes her body has gone through in becoming a werevixen..."
"But surely... they'd..." Peter began.
"Jenny is like me in that we came to the college from outside Moon Lake," Karen explained, "they won't know about weres... and from what Jenny's told me, their reaction is likely to be borderline hostile if Jenny has to reveal to them that she is a were now."
Peter gave a heavy sigh in response. He'd heard of some parents being strict with their children, but something in the way Karen was explaining things to him had the implication that things weren't good and could be worse.
"And things get worse," Karen spoke, "from what I've been told... is that Jenny's parents have some want to get themselves out of the gutter, and their ideas for that have included trying to set Jenny up with a guy she doesn't want to be with."
"So I take it they don't approve of her choice of husband?" Peter asked.
"That's the fear," Karen nodded, "which is the thing that will really hammer things home with regard to the wedding and the fact that her parents are obviously guests at the wedding."
Peter nodded but gave a warning, "they could cause trouble though."
"And that is the continued fear as well," Karen agreed, "especially if her parents do anything to try and force Jenny in anyway... and that could cause more trouble for her."
"So... what is the favor that you want from me?" Peter asked.
"From you and from your family's pride," Karen answered, making Peter raise an eyebrow for a moment. "Male lions protect their prides from interlopers and threats, right?"
"Among mundane lions, yes," Peter nodded, "Among werelions... males might take a more leadership role in the defense of a pride and would go in first if a real fight comes about... though with most circumstances that "threats" would come about in Moon Lake... we'd still call the police and so on. Just because we turn into lions doesn't mean that we have the base mentality of lions."
"But a male werelion would still take on the role of a protector for his pride, right?" Karen asked and then continued when Peter nodded, "Well... my favor... my request is that you and your pride provide some protection at the wedding... make sure that if Jenny's parents actually BRING their choice of husband that he can't cause trouble... or that if they do anything threatening that they can't carry it out or hurt Jenny."
"You want us to protect Jenny?" Peter asked.
"And her fiance/husband and anyone connected to the wedding," Karen answered, "From everything I've heard... they could cause trouble and hurt her... and Jenny is my best friend here. I don't want her hurt."
"I see..." Peter said slowly, "Well... I'd do anything for you... though you should know that neither I nor my dad, nor my uncles have had much in the way of security training. All we can really do is provide extra muscle in case anyone needs to be restrained... not to mention that my pride can't just drop everything for the wedding. I'd do anything for you... but you might only get me."
"Even if it's only you..." Karen answered, "any effort that would keep my best friend safe would be appreciated."
"Then... I will do what I can," Peter promised, "It may only be me... but I assure you... your friend will be protected."